Device for surface and subaquatic swimming



June 21, 1966 NOVELLI 3,256,540

DEVICE FOR SURFACE AND SUBAQUATIC SWIMMING Filed March 27, 1964 FIG. 2

INVENTOR. ,4; (SE/Q70 Navn Ll Arry.

United States Patent 3,256,540 DEVICE FOR SURFACE AND SUBAQUATIC SWIlVIMlNG Alberto Novelli, Pozzuoli, Italy (Via S. Gennaro 46, Naples, Italy) Filed Mm. 27, 1964, Ser. No. 355,249 Claims priority, application Italy, Apr. 4, 1963, Patent 690,560 5 Claims. (Cl. 9-309) The invention relates to a device for surface and subaquatic swimming, which is usually called flippers. Said device consists of a special shoe adapted to house the foot of the swimmer, said shoe having a forward projecting part which becomes wider and thinner towards its front end and is so shaped as a blade element so as to give to the swimmers foot a broader surface against the liquid mass in order to obtain a higher forward thrust.

The known flippers are usually constructed of a substantially elastic material, as for instance, rubber, plastic material or the like, said shoe being realized as a single body with the blade element, shaped like a large frogs foot, and obtained by a molding process.

By using said known flippers, it occurs that a strong braking action takes place when the swimmer pushes forward the leg and then the foot, owing to the fact that the sole plane of the shoe as well as the plane of the blade element, which are substantially coincident during this phase of the stroke, are substantially perpendicular to the direction of advance. Said braking action tends to oppose the forward movement of the foot so that waste effort on the part of swimmer is required to counteract said braking action.

The invention provides a device for surface and subaquatic swimming which comprises a broad fiat blade element similar to known flippers, said blade element forming a single body with the sole of the swimmers shoe, but being so constructed that said element can move to and fro in respect to the front of said shoe, rotating about an axis perpendicular to the longitudinal central plane of said shoe. The swimming shoe of the present invention includes substantially two soles, the lower of which forming a single body with the blade element, while the upper one, which is preferably thinner than the lower sole, remains in contact with the lower surface of the foot.

These lower and upper soles are separated one from the other at least in the front part of the shoe. On the contrary, said soles are securely connected one with the other at the rear part of the shoe. Said swimming shoe could be otherwise connected to the lower sole by articulation means adapted to allow that at least the front part of the shoe can move to and fro with respect to the lower sole, by rotating about the aforesaid transverse articulation axis.

At the front part of the swimming shoe, means are pro,- vided for restraining the movements of the shoe with respect to the lower sole within predetermined limits. The invention provides a swimming device which is able to take automatically during the forward and return movements of the foot two different positions, a precise first position which corresponds to the forward movement of the foot and a second position which corresponds to the return movement of the foot. During this latter position the upper sole of the shoe matches the lower one, thus forming a unit operating as a single body which is so arranged in this phase of the motion that the foot can utilize the maximum surface of the flipper for pressing against the liquid mass, and therefore the swimmers body can receive as a reaction a forward thrust of the maximum value.

In the second position the means-which link the lower 3,256,540 Patented June 21, 1966 "ice sole to the shoe remain entirely inoperative and the swimming device operates as the conventional flippers.

During the forward stroke, at the moment when the conventional flippers would begin to transmit a braking action, by using the swimming device of the invention, the foot continues freely to move forward a little longer, on account of the fact that the foot with the shoe can move away from the lower sole a predetermined limit defined by the aforesaid linking means. When this position has been reached, the upper sole will be set at an angle to the lower sole as well as to the blade element forming a single body with this latter so that the blade element or flipper may more easily penetrate into the liquid mass without any substantial braking action but acting as if it glided along an inclined plane imparting a forward thrust to the swimmer.

A preferred embodiment of the invention will be hereinafter described with reference to the accompanying drawing given merely by way of example, and in which:

FIG. 1 shows a side view of the device,

FIG. 2 shows a top view, and

FIG. 3 shows a cross sectional view taken along the line AA of FIGS. 1 and 2.

Referring in detail to the drawing, the shoe is marked 1, said shoe comprising an upper so shaped as to closely fit to the foot and as to constitute protection for the foot only at the required points.

Therefore the said upper can be realized as a continuous wall or as a perforated wall having holes or orifices at those points where any protection is not necessary; thus the swimming shoe can be realized in the form of a sandal. At the front part, the vamp 1 is connected by means of the sole 4 to a lower sole 2 which is integral with a blade element 3; said sole 2 can be constituted by a closed wall or it can be provided with orifices 6 in those parts which do not cooperate in the swimming. At the central and front parts of the swimming shoe, where said shoe is separated from the sole 2, the shoe is provided with a thin sole 4 or other connecting means, such as strips or the like which only serve to secure the shoe to the foot.

According to the shown embodiment, the shoe is provided with a closed upper sole 4 which is articulated to the sole 2 about the transverse axis X-X. On the front part of the vamp and preferably on its sides, strips 5 are fixed, which are secured at their other ends to the sole 2.

Said strips can have internal reinforcing means in order to better withstand the imposed stresses.

The length of said strips 5 is proportioned according to the maximum distance which the point of the shoe can attain in respect to that of the sole 2, that is to say according to the maximum angle that the plane of the sole 2 can form with the plane of the sole 4, that is to say, of the foot wearing the shoe.

Therefore, when the starting of the advancing phase takes place, first the front part of the shoe moves away from the sole 2. Such a lifting movement of the foot inserted in the swimming shoe stops when the strips are strained to the maximum. In such a position the swimming. device and more particularly the flipper 3 is arranged to offer a reduced resistance to the advance of the foot. It is to be noted that the flipper or blade element 3 is conventional in its shape and size.

I claim:

1. A swimming flipper comprising a shoe portion by which the flipper is worn on the foot, and a fin that underlies the shoe and extends a substantial distance forwardly of the shoe and is secured to the shoe adjacent the rear of the shoe for swinging movement toward and away from the shoe about an axis perpendicular to the central plane of the flipper, the space between the shoe and the fin being open at both sides when the fin is swung away from the shoe so that the flipper oflers less water resistance in said swung-away position than when the fin is against the shoe.

2. A swimming flipper as claimed in claim 1 and means adjacent a forward portion of the shoe and on opposite sides of the shoe for limiting movement of the shoe and fin away from each other.

3. A swimming flipper as claimed in claim 1, and upstanding marginal portions extending lengthwise of the edges of the fin, a lower portion of the shoe fitting down between said marginal portions when the fin is against the shoe.

4. A swimming flipper as claimed in claim 3, and

4 opposite sides of the shoe and interconnecting the shoe and said upstanding marginal portions for limiting movement of the shoe and fin away from each other.

5. A swimming flipper as claimed in claim 1, and openings through that portion of the fin that underlies the shoe.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS MILTON BUCHLER, Primary Examiner.

means adjacent a forward portion of the shoe and on 15 A-E-CORRIGAN,ASS;SW1IExaminer- 

1. A SWIMMING FLIPPER COMPRISING A SHOE PORTION BY WHICH THE FLIPPER IS WORN ON THE FOOT, AND A THIN THAT UNDERLIES THE SHOE AND EXTENDS A SUBSTANTIAL DISTANCE FORWARDLY OF THE SHOE AND IS SECURED TO TEH SHOE ADJACENT THE REAR OF THE SHOE FOR SWINGING MOVEMENT TOWARD AND AWAY FROM THE SHOE ABOUT AN AXIS PERPENDICULAR TO THE CENTRAL PLANE OF THE FLIPPER, THE SPACE BETWEEN THE SHOE AND THE FIN BEING OPEN AT BOTH SIDES WHEN THE FIN IS SWUNG AWAY FROM THE SHOE SO THAT THE FLIPPER OFFERS LESS WATER RESISANCE IN SAID SWUNG-AWAY POSITION THAN WHEN THE FIN IS AGAINST THE SHOE. 